Advice for Scientists

Caroline
Ceniza-Levine

Pros and Cons of Leaving a Job Early

One of the survey results showed that Generation Y do not think they should stay at an employer for more than a year. The hiring managers I have worked with as a recruiter see a two-year stint as a minimum, so one year on the job is definitely leaving a job early. In fact, if you have a series of ev...


Ron
Hunter

Schools, Networks, Companies: Does Size Matter?

From my viewpoint, this is completely dependent on what you need at each step in your educational and professional careers. On beginning undergrad, I had narrowed down my choices between going to the University of Miami (11,380 undergrads in 2015) vs. Mercer University (4,419 undergrads in 2015)....


Suzane
Ramos da Silva

When is the right time to get the waiver for the 212e rule (Two-Year Home Country Physical Presence Requirement)

I have decided to write about this, because when I needed my waiver, I had some problems that other people didn’t, and most of the people even didn’t know about them. Most of the people with a J1 Visa will get the 212e rule in their DS2019 and/or Visa stamp. It is based on the skills/area/fie...


Ron
Hunter

Diversity Matters: Am I a Unicorn?

As a graduate student, I completed my dissertation research in a laboratory external to the chemistry department in the Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) at Emory University. Due to this, I nurtured a relationship not only with Emory University’s main career center, but also one with caree...


Donna
Kridelbaugh

#SCICOMM TIP: NEVER CLAIM TO BE THE FIRST TO DO ANYTHING IN SCIENCE

You see it all the time—in a popular news article about a groundbreaking research study to even the primary literature—that so-and-so researcher is the “first” to make some brand new discovery.This claim makes me cringe every time I see it. Why? Well to be honest, it’s highly unlikely to b...


Suzane
Ramos da Silva

There is no work life balance since work is part of your life

After reading an interview with a pioneer scientist on Science, I kept questioning myself about how to find a balance between life and work. In the cited interview, the scientist said she took 5 days off work for the birth of all her three sons. I read a lot about life and work time balance, an...


Fabian
Zanella

It’s not fun to ride the salary roller coaster

Since around this time of the year, tax return commercials invade our televisions, I thought I could share an experience that is related to that. In my five years of postdoctoral experience, I have been fortunate to be able to cover for my own salary through a grant from a local funding agency, a...


Shu Chin
Ma

How to speak with confidence-part 1, public speaking and presentations

Does your stomach do flips when you hear the word “presentation”? Does your throat get drier than the Sahara desert when you have to speak to more than one person? Do you sweat profusely when you have to “network”? Do your legs wobble if you have to resolve perceived conflicts and unequivoca...


Ron
Hunter

Good or Bad: It is still change

At my desk, I have a sign that reads, “The most dangerous phrase in the language is ‘we’ve always done it this way’ by Rear Admiral Grace Hopper.” Growing up as a child of a military serviceman can be seen as the ultimate training in becoming comfortable with change. We moved around q...


Sandlin
Seguin

Explaining your transition

Once you decide that you are going to make a career transition, you are going to have to answer the question Why, “why make the transition?” And sometimes that will be worded as a skeptical “Why not stay?” Having an answer to this question matters because it helps others understand wher...